I am an invertebrate paleontologist and evolutionary biologist who combines specimen-based data from the fossil record with statistical phylogenetic methods to better understand the origin, maintenance, and modification of biological diversity throughout the history of life. My research program revolves around three interconnected and reciprocally illuminating themes: (1) macroevolution, (2) integrating statistical phylogenetic methods with the fossil record, and (3) documenting the biodiversity, systematics, and geological history of marine invertebrate animals, especially fossil echinoderms. Fundamental to my research is the reconstruction and downstream macroevolutionary analysis of phylogenetic trees of fossil species. I specialize in the application of Bayesian methods to infer phylogenies and the application of statistical Phylogenetic Comparative Methods (PCMs) to investigate macroevolutionary dynamics in extinct lineages. I have wide-ranging experience and expertise in the systematics of fossil invertebrates, ranging from brachiopods to Paleozoic arthropods, but most of my work focuses on Phylum Echinodermata (starfish, sea urchins, and kin), especially the Crinoidea (sea lilies & feather stars). My taxonomically-focused research has formally described dozens of Paleozoic echinoderm taxa, including many new species and higher taxa, and much of my research uses the ~half-billion-year echinoderm fossil record as a natural experiment and laboratory to investigate questions at the nexus of macroevolutionary theory, Earth history, and paleobiology.
